Detroit Tigers Minor League report: Jackson Jobe arrives

Erie SeaWolves (4-5) – 5th in Eastern League Southwest

For the second straight week the Erie SeaWolves took on a very talented pitching staff, and they racked up plenty of strikeouts in the process. Erie’s 124 strikeouts this season are 18 more than any other team in the Eastern League, and they whiffed 77 times against the Somerset Patriots last week. But they still managed to go 2-4.

Veteran hurler Markus Solbach (4.1 IP, 3H, ER, BB, 9K) had a terrific SeaWolves debut, and Dillon Dingler helped keep the score in check with a key pickoff, but the Patriots prevailed 2-1 when Brandon Lockridge hit a walk-off double. Adam Wolf (3.2 IP, 3H, 3BB, 5K) had a solid debut on Wednesday, Quincy Nieporte hit his first home run of the season, and Joe Navilhon, Gerson Moreno, and Brendan White combined to strike out 11 over 5.1 innings of scoreless relief in a 3-0 win. Thursday’s game was a 5-4 loss that spoiled Andre Lipcius‘ first homer of the year, but it was probably most notable for Gage Workman going wild on the bases.

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Workman had a strong week overall, going 7-for-19 with three doubles, a home run, two walks, and eight(!) stolen bases in eight tries. The SeaWolves’ other win of the week came on Friday thanks to a stellar performance from Garrett Hill (4IP, 2H, ER, BB, 9K) and huge production from Erie’s 6-7-8 hitters Dane Myers, Quincy Nieport, and Kerry Carpenter, who combined to go 8-for-15 with three home runs and six RBIs. Unfortunately, that was it for the offense, and the ‘Wolves struck out 17 times in a 6-0 loss on Saturday, and then managed just four hits in an 11-4 drubbing on Sunday.

They’ll try to make a bit more contact this week when they host the Richmond Flying Squirrels, though Tuesday’s game has already been moved to Thursday due to inclement weather.

West Michigan Whitecaps (6-3) – T1st in Midwest League East

The Whitecaps made their home debut last week, and the opener was an all-timer. In unseasonably warm weather, West Michigan outlasted their bitter rivals, the Lansing Lugnuts, in an 11-inning affair. Whitecaps starter Keider Montero made it just two batters into the 2nd inning, but West Michigan held a 5-4 lead for most of the game, thanks to a big performance from Parker Meadows (2-for-5, HR, 2B, BB, 2RBI) and a timely hit from Trei Cruz. Lansing tied it in the 9th, then the teams traded runs in the 10th inning. The Lugnuts seem to secure the victory with four runs in the 11th, but the Caps stormed back and won on a wind-aided Wenceel Perez walk-off:

Wednesday’s game was postponed, which meant Thursday’s doubleheader saw the Whitecaps debuts of Jordan Marks and Wilmer Flores. Marks (4IP, 6H, 5ER, BB, 5K) looked great in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th innings, but things went completely sideways in the 3rd, with four singles, a triple, a home run, and a balk, and Lansing went on to win 8-5. Flores (3IP, 7K) was absolutely electric in his outing, blowing away Lugnuts batters for three perfect innings, and Parker Meadows hit his 4th home run of the early season, leading to a 6-0 Whitecaps win.

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And the week was just getting started. Carlos Guzman (5IP, 4H, ER, 3BB, 4K) authored a solid start, and catcher Mike Rothenberg hit his first home run of the season in a 6-3 win on Friday night, and then on Saturday Jack O’Loughlin (4IP, 2H, 0ER, 4K) and Dylan Smith (3IP, H, 0ER, BB, 5K) combined forces to stifle the Lugnuts bats in a 6-0 victory. The week ended with West Michigan losing 5-3, and Ty Madden (4IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K) taking his first pro loss, though he continued to flash impressive stuff.

Up next for the Whitecaps is a six-game road trip to Ohio to face the Dayton Dragons.

Lakeland Flying Tigers (2-7) – 5th in Florida State League West

The Flying Tigers went just 1-5 last week, but it’s hard to care too much about records, because this might be the most talented and interesting Low-A roster the franchise has fielded in years. So, we’ll ignore the game results and start at the end, with Jackson Jobe’s Sunday outing:

Jobe very much looked like a thrower rather than a pitcher, and for all the talk about his elite stuff, batters didn’t seem to have much trouble with it. That said, his pitch data remains spectacular, and he’s a 19-year-old who touches 97 MPH with his fastball, show solid feel for an upper-80s changeup, and owns a slider that would top Major League Baseball in terms of spin. He may need more time to develop than some had hoped, but the frontline starter potential is still pretty obvious.

There were plenty of other fun firsts for Lakeland last week. We saw the professional debut of Detroit’s 2021 9th-round pick Garrett Burhenn (4IP, 6H, ER, BB, 5K), and the first Low-A home runs from Izaac Pacheco, Manuel Sequera, and Cristian Santana. The shots from Pacheco and Sequera were both impressive, but Santana’s went into orbit and may have traveled 440 feet or more.

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Last week also gave fans rehab stints from Derek Hill, Alex Faedo (3.2IP, 4H, 3ER, BB, 5K), and Wilkel Hernandez (2.2 IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K), as well as a strong offensive performance from 20-year-old outfielder Jose De La Cruz (5-for-16, 2HR, 2B, 6RBI) .

The Flying Tigers return home this week for six games against Palm Beach Cardinals.